ice baths

Read about Msgr. Sebastian Kneipp, 1821-1897, Pope Leo XIII's physician, who pioneered the health benefits of cold water baths (hydrotherapy). See his: My Water Cure as Tested Through More Than Thirty Years and Described for the Healing of Diseases and the Preservation of Health (TradiBooks reprint).

He also had Leo XIII drinking cocaine, and that always helps too.    I wish I could get some of that.

"His Holiness..writes that he has fully appreciated the beneficent effects of this tonic wine"  Maybe RFK jr. can do us a solid and get it back on the market

From the Wiki article ...

Pope Leo XIII purportedly carried a hipflask of Vin Mariani with him, and awarded a Vatican gold medal to Angelo Mariani.

Pope Leo XIII was about, oh, 123 years old, and still writing an Encyclical once per week ... and that's not too much of a hyperbole.

Recently I've been experimenting with the methods taught by Hof and find the initial results promising. I have found the basic breathing practice, followed by a cold shower, to be of substantial help in dealing with the effects of heavily interrupted sleep.

Thus far I would offer two caveats though:

1) Pay attention to the warning given that one is NOT to practice the breathing technique while in the water. Apparently a number of people have passed out and drowned because they didn't catch that detail.

2) Be capable of separating out the method from the man. Apparently Hof himself has problems:

FWIW

Low Mass - lots of kneeling.  I’ve been very uncomfortable doing this and recently found that NOT hunching-down and retaining a more upright posture helps.  More so, consciously maintaining a steady, regular breathing pattern helped me immensely (I was falling into apnea before)

Recently I've been experimenting with the methods taught by Hof and find the initial results promising. I have found the basic breathing practice, followed by a cold shower, to be of substantial help in dealing with the effects of heavily interrupted sleep.

Thus far I would offer two caveats though:

1) Pay attention to the warning given that one is NOT to practice the breathing technique while in the water. Apparently a number of people have passed out and drowned because they didn't catch that detail.

2) Be capable of separating out the method from the man. Apparently Hof himself has problems:

People have also reported permanent ringing in their ears or other lasting negative affects. This meathod of breathing seems to bring a person close to death with a very high probability of not dying. Too little CO2 changes blood PH such that the body can't absorb and use oxygen. Being near death may cause a release of chemicals found in hallucinogenic mushrooms, which may increase brain activity and fluidity of neural pathways far beyond what is normal. If someone doesn't know exactly what they are doing with this technique, and possibly regardless, they could cause lasting damage.

I looked into it with hope and curiosity, but have judged it not worth the risk.

Cold shower or soak is supposed to be beneficial for energy and focus. Stressing the body with extreme heat, cold, hunger, and work (heat being less safe than extreme cold) can trigger some regenerative responses that heal the body.